Mr. Bay is no more then a stunt co-coordinator

Rating: 7/10 (20 August 2005)

I recently saw Michael Bay's most recent outing 'The Island' not expecting much, and so, as I'm sure many did, came away pleasantly surprised. I confess, I am an avid Ewan McGregor fan, his performances seem to get stronger and stronger with each new role, and I have loved Scarlett Johansson's work ever since 'Lost in Translation' graced cinema screens the world over, but I did not think that either of them could save a film from the sometimes diabolical Bay. Although it is hardly difficult to see how Bay manages to make a living. Even the atrocious 'Pearl Harbour' filled seats all over the world despite being the cinematic equivalent of having 'USA! USA!' barked at you for upwards of 3 hours. How then, with the testosterone-addled Bay behind at the helm, would 'The Island' fair? I was most pleasantly surprised. McGregor and Johansson give better-then-average performances as childish clones Licoln Six-Echo and Jordan Two-Delta, and Sean Bean (the most under-rated man in Hollywood) gives a competent performance as the evil scientist Merrick. Walking away from the cinema something dawned on me. Bay, as a film director, is crap. Honestly, the man can't go 25 minutes without blowing something up. However, he is a talented action-sequence director, and I love the fact he shows restraint, not using computer animation when a good old-fashioned stunt will do. Bay is, when one gets right down to it, no more then a talented action-sequence director. 'The Island' has (a little) more to it then that, however, and it seems as though, after SPECTACULARILY failing at weaving a love triangle together in 'Pearl Harbour' (possibly the worst war film of all time), Bay has decided to leave the acting bits to the actors and focused on what he excels at: blowing things up.